1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for analyzing browse activity data of users of a database access system, and more specifically, to the analysis of item selection histories of users of a database access system to predict category preferences or affinities of such users.
2. Description of the Related Art
Web sites and other types of interactive systems commonly host electronic catalogs for assisting users in locating and evaluating various types of items. The items may, for example, include physical products, journal articles, movie and music titles, downloadable software, services, stock assets, businesses, and/or any other type of item that may be represented in a database. Electronic catalog systems also commonly support the ability for users to conduct various types of item-related transactions, such as downloading an item or purchasing an item.
Typically, the items within the electronic catalog are grouped into various categories and subcategories to facilitate navigation. These categories and subcategories are often organized into a hierarchical structure referred to as a browse tree, although the structure need not actually be a tree structure in a strict sense. The leaf nodes (nodes that do not have any children) of the browse tree typically represent the items themselves, while the non-leaf or category nodes represent categories of items. Selection of a category node typically causes its immediate children, which may be specific items or other item categories, to be displayed. Users can thus interactively navigate the browse tree to locate items of interest. Other types of navigation tools, such as a search engine that supports constraint-based searches, may also be provided to assist users in locating items.
To further assist users in locating items of interest, many Web sites use recommendations systems, and other types of personalization applications, to personalize Web pages for users. For example, some systems recommend specific items and item categories to users based on the past browsing activities of such users.